Memories of Beauty
by White Shade
Summary: Belle, finally freed from Regina's prison and taken in by Mr. Gold since, has finally remembered her past life. In the fairy tale land, she remembers. Her father, Gaston, her beast. And the beast still cared...even after 28 years. Rated T for fluff part.


She could not believe this. Not in a thousand years did she ever think he would come for her. He, the last person on the earth she'd ever suspect, actually came to her rescue...and she couldn't even remember his name for years!

Now, she knew it, and oh could she recall everything; every detail that swarmed her mind was like a tidal wave of violence. Her first memory of him was when he showed up at the castle. The castle, the castle, her father, Gaston, everyone around her as he proclaimed that his price for the ogre wars was her. Then, she went willingly.

And his rage after she'd kissed him because it was true love. He didn't want it, but she knew he did on the inside. He was afraid of losing his power, and she was a weakness to him. So, he sent her away, and she roamed around, not wanting to go home to her father. She was free, but for once she didn't want to be.

None of that mattered now, even the question of how she could even forget such memories was clouded by the fact that this man, Mr. Gold was his name now, had actually come for her. For years, she sat alone in that cell, isolated for reasons she did not know. Then, the kind sheriff Emma released her from her awful bonds, and she was promptly taken to Mr. Gold. She wondered why he looked at her in such a way of disbelief and longing...as if he was breath taken by her. Now, she knew why.

Oh, she knew why, and now she could not contain herself. She was alone in Mr. Gold's spare room, where she spent a lot of her time when he was running the pawn shop. Belle had always felt comfortable around him, not able to explain why. But now...

Things had vastly changed. Her memory fully recovered, Belle ran for the door, bypassing all his things (he had a lot of stuff, she noted as she went down the staircase). But, as if there was a force restraining her inside, she stopped cold at the door, not even touching the handle.

Where was the pawn shop again? She couldn't remember for a few seconds. Abruptly, Belle went to the closest mirror to inspect her hair a little bit. After straightening it profoundly, tying it back with a small tie so that only the back portion was actually tied together, she wiped her cotton dress. Once more, she stopped by the door, gently turning the knob. Inhaling the air was like a breath of fresh air. Eureka. She had found what she was looking for. That missing piece of her puzzle. She shut the door, locking it behind her, shoved the key in her pocket, and ran for the pawn shop!

Her breath hastened along with her footsteps. She could feel and hear the beat of her heart as her eyes widened to what was around her. So many extremities to her, foreign objects she never noticed before, though she didn't pay too close attention to those details.

Belle's pale arms swayed with the motion of her feet, opposite to the foot she was running with. Never so desperately did she wish to be in one place so quickly. It was not the dress that was an obstacle, but rather the high heels she was running in. Now that she thought about it, Belle couldn't think of any reason she'd be wearing heels to begin with. Splashing through a puddle, she huffed and panted, intaking the dampness and the musky smell she swore she could recognize from anywhere. So exhausted from her sprint was she that her body practically crashed into the door to the pawn shop. The little bell made an obnoxious sound as she tripped inside, barely catching herself as her hand reached for the door for support.

Her breaths were short and faster than a jackrabbit and she bent over, closing the door. Running was not her forte obviously. She leaned back against the door, unknowingly flipping the 'open' sign so that it read 'closed.' Closing her eyes, pictures of Rumpelstiltskin came to mind, forcing a smile onto her face. It felt enlightening to remember herself, and Rumpelstiltskin...the rush hit her heart harder than the run had.

"Gold?" she called out breathless still, yet audible enough for him to hear her from the back room. His head snapped up at the sound of her distressed voice. He knew something was amiss, almost as well as he knew that voice. A THUD came soon after.

"What's wrong?" he shouted, sprinting to the front of the shop where he found her, kneeling on the wooden floor, gasping for air. Mr. Gold ran to her, kneeling on one knee to inspect her condition.

Her eyes didn't meet him yet, so he merely stared for a little while, letting her catch her breath.

"Did you run? Why did you do that? I wasn't going anywhere," he said, trying to make some conversation. Silence felt awkward to him for a moment like this. "Speak to me...take it easy. Just breath...there you go, dear."

He placed a hand on her back, sorrowfully scanning her, for he was curious as to what emergency would make her run like this all the way to the pawn shop?

Finally, her ocean eyes stared back into his amber shaded irises. It was that moment he knew for sure: she knew. She remembered. Belle...remembered. Finally, no more hiding anything from her, if even to prevent confusing her. Rumpelstiltskin didn't have to hide from her anymore. He could accept her, as he wanted to all those years ago. But, she was right, he was a coward, and she wasn't afraid to challenge him. That was just one reason he liked her. The rest is history.

Her breath hit his face, the scent carrying hints of mint tea and caramel candies.

"Rumpelstiltskin..." the tears began to fall like drops from heaven from her pale white face. Belle flung herself into him, wrapping her arms around his neck. As if an instinct, his response was to embrace her into a close hug, and NEVER, _EVER_, let go again.

Mr. Gold's eyes closed as he took note of her smell, burying his head into her hair.

"Yes," he managed to squeak out. "Yes, yes it's me dearie." Her arms clutched to him tightly as a child's would, as Baelfire used to long ago. A weight of endless amount had been lifted from his chest. The air was obtainable again, and Belle ran all the way to him because she remembered! She still...wanted him.

"How, how can you still want me? After what I did to you-" Mr. Gold began, but he was cut off from that sentence as she squirmed out of his tight embrace to stare into his eyes. With her fragile hand, she pushed back his straightened hair out of his face.

Her smile meant so much more to him than she'd know. Recklessly, she leaned in, he met her half way, and within seconds, their lips locked together. However, Belle released moments later, vigorously taking in any air she could.

"Belle," was all Mr. Gold could say at that moment.

Within her eyes lain hope and a happiness he could only sense in her heart. Apparently she didn't care about what happened in the past. Then again, she'd been lost for years, not knowing who she really was, who _he_ was, until minutes ago. She crashed herself into him again.

"I've missed you..." she said. "So much."

"More than you know," he replied, holding her tight. "I promise I will never let you go again. Mark my word...Belle."

"Please don't," she whispered. "I love you."

"And I do believe I am in love with you," Mr. Gold responded, readjusting his position so as they were sitting more comfortably on the floor, Belle resting on his knees.

By now, Belle had finally caught up with herself, able to relax. She stared intently at Mr. Gold, who couldn't take his eyes off of her either. Her arms came around his neck again, and she couldn't restrain herself. They kissed again, each knowing they were two of the luckiest people in Stroybrooke right now. Both remembered, both still loved, and both were loved in return.

The two stood up, Belle speechless for not knowing what to say first and Mr. Gold wanted to say so much, but he restrained himself.

"I-i-i can't believe this...it-it's really you. What have I been doing all this time? All I remember is being lost and-and worthless..." she rambled.

"I can explain it to you as best I can when we return to the house. I'd rather not discuss anything here..." Still, he was staring uncontrollably at her figure then back to her eyes. Without warning, he pulled her into him, tilting his head ever so slightly to catch her lips again.

This kiss lingered now that both of them could breathe properly. Each time he pressed her closer, he realized she could not physically possibly be any closer to him than what she was. Yet somehow, the distance still seemed so far away, like he would never be able to reach her. Perhaps that came from never seeing her for over the span of 28 years, but time, though it rarely effected Mr. Gold anyway, taught him many things.

The whole time, he felt like a coward. He sent her away rather than facing her to explain to her why he could not afford true love at that time in his life. She was close to him and he pushed her away, only to then later be lied to by that wretched queen. He was convinced this guilt would never lift from his conscious; that is, until Emma's news spread around town about a girl locked up illegally by the mayor's indirect involvement.

The Evil Queen might have used her against him to go back on their agreement with the word please. That would have been a good plan, had that deal already not have been struck between them. All he had to do was ask her nicely to let Belle out, no agreement necessary. Then what would she have used Belle for?

Riding his mind of such worthless trash, he brought his hands to Belle's waist, wanting this to moment to live forever. He carefully guided her toward a countertop, where he leaned against it as she continued to kiss him. His response seemed exceedingly eager to her, but who was she to judge? It had been years since they'd last kissed, and that one ended in tragedy.

After they released, their eyes stared into each other's. Only the sound of their breath could be heard in the dead silence of the shop. Belle brought one of her hands down to his chest, where she felt his own heartbeat blistering like the wind on a the eve of a violent storm. Now that he was more accepting of her affections, Belle let out a small yip as he lifted her on top of the empty counter space. He followed, kissing her again with passion and a longing that finally fulfilled itself.

"So formal," she sighed, removing his black jacket and working at the red tie, flinging it across so it fell behind the counter.

"Says the woman who's wearing a cotton dress," he smirked. She smiled, slipping off his tie to let it fall near the jacket. They kissed again, when Mr. Gold's attention was brought back to the true reality.

"I'm sorry...Belle," he said, staring at her with a softness she recognized from when she kissed him the first time. He still had trouble with saying her name, the moment had such an impact upon his mind. "This is really for...another place, perhaps at another time as well?"

"Oh!" Belle exclaimed, looking around finally. A small blush creeped upon her face. "I guess, I guess you're right. I'm sorry. It's just-it's you and I can't believe it."

"We'll talk more at home."

"All right," Belle sighed. "It's a deal."

Rumpel shook his head.

"No deal, just me and you, dearie. That's all I want, and I have that now. I am content."

Belle stayed with him for a few hours until closing time was upon them. Mr. Gold locked up the shop, careful to be sure that everything was in its proper place. He placed an arm around Belle and she leaned closer to him, excited to know that she had her beast back. She'd always had him, she just didn't remember.

"I love you, Rumpelstiltskin," Belle whispered candidly when they came to the front porch. She wrapped both of her arms around to his back, too lazy to reach for his neck. He returned her hug, this time with more confidence.

He kissed the top of her head.

"Belle..." it felt so good to say that name again. "I love you too."


End file.
